BATGIRL & ROBIN: The Fairytale Duelling Duo
by Speedster at Heart
Summary: A Batgirl & Robin fanfiction. Dick and Babs are stuck in a book of Fairytales, and have to do anything they can to escape. And when I say ANYTHING, I mean ANYTHING! Will they make it out? Alive? Without revealing any feelings?
1. 1: You Took My Book

**Batgirl & Robin: The Fairytale Duelling Duo**

**CHAPTER 1: You Have My Book! **

Barbara hissed as she heard another break of giggles. She tried to focus on her assignment, but the distraction was too loud and strong. No, no. This is no doing of the Joker. The master of this crime was Dick Grayson.

She scowled as the crowd of girls around him cooed as he flicked his black hair to the side and gave them a smile. This was no place for a jock like Dick, he should be out on the field. But who resist the hot study mates in the library?

Barbara slumped her head onto the book she had on the study desk as she sighed with frustration.

_He is SO annoying! Everywhere he goes, they follow him! Like moths to a flame! Like a group of vultures feasting on a dead lion!_

"Oh Richard, you are so intelligent!"

"I know! Is there anything you _don't _know?"

"Yeah, he doesn't know how to SHUT UP!" hissed Barbara.

Dick stopped smiling and showing off to see where the interruption had come from. His eyebrows raised as he spotted the silky red hair that belonged to his colleague.

_Ah, Babs. _He thought as he smiled to himself. _Batgirl and Robin might be an awesome team, but Barbara in the library plus me, was definitely NOT a good combination._

"Hey Babs! Whatcha reading?" he asked from across the room.

"This is NOT high school, Grayson." he heard her sigh.

"No, but it's College, great place to hook up with people…like you." he called.

There was a sudden tap on his shoulder, as the girls around him giggled. Ms. Dorson, the College librarian, was glaring at him.

"Uh, hi, Ms. Dorson. How are the old books?" he said with a weak smile.

"OUT OF MY LIBRARY!" she shouted.

Dick sighed and left the building with his stuff. The girls cooed and followed him out. Barbara dropped her shoulders with relief.

_Finally! I can actually get some work done!_

She scanned through the instructions of her assignment, and her eyes widened when she read the requirement list.

"A fairytale book? You've got to be kidding me! I'm nineteen! Not seven!"

She made her way to the fiction section of the library, and began her search for the book. But minutes later, her librarian skills were out-skilled. It was nowhere to be seen. Barbara decided to ask the lady at the desk.

"Excuse me, is 'Enchanted Fairytales' by Sheila Twix still on the shelf?" she asked.

"No, I'm sorry. It was just taken out by someone a few minutes ago."

"Can you tell me who?" she asked.

The lady scrolled the wheel of her mouse and clicked it a few times.

"Enchanted Fairytales was borrowed by Dick Grayson. It'll be back in three weeks." the lady said.

Barbara smiled with her mouth closed and her teeth clenched as she nodded and left the library.

_This better be a joke. Because, whenever Richard Grayson is involved with a book, it implies to me that either Alfred is reading him bed time stories, or he's having a laugh with the Joker. _

She had time to catch her breath when she reached the gates of Wayne Manor. Her hand opened the lock without fear or sign of anxiety. After all, she needed that book, and nothing was going to stop her.

The front lawn was beautifully trimmed and decorated, another great doing from Alfred. There was nothing unfamiliar, of course. She'd been here millions of times before; tagging along with her dad, party invitation…Batman meetings. When she reached the door, she heard the loud, vibrating sound of rock music, coming from the inside of the house. That would mean either Bruce was out, or Alfred and Dick were playing Guitar Hero.

Barbara rang the doorbell, and waited for someone to open the door. She rang it a few more times before discovering that the front door was already open.

A frown appeared on her face as she peered in and saw Dick on the couch, eating pizza while listening to music on the super amplifier.

"Dick! What on earth are you doing?" she said with her best Bruce voice.

Dick looked startled as he began looking around and clearing everything on the table frantically.

"U-uh Bruce! Bruce my buddy, I uh-"

Barbara stopped giggling to herself when she spotted the old book on the edge of the table. And gasped as she watched it tip over the edge as Dick knocked it his hand. She leapt and her arms lundged for it, catching it from its fall. He looked down as her, his head towering over her.

"You're not Bruce." he remarked.

"And you're not a very good book-carer!" she snapped.

"So what, are we saving books now? Who's after it? Penguin? Riddler? Poison Ivy?" he asked sarcastically.

"Look! If you can't take care of a library book, I'll take it home with me! There are people who actually NEED it!" she growled.

"Hey! I need it for my assignment!"

"Didn't look like you need it!

"Give it back!"

Dick grabbed one end of the book, and Barbara clung onto the other.

"No!"

"Babs!"

"Call me Babs, one more time-"

"Babs, Babs, Babs, Babs, Babs, Babs-"

"Stop it! Just SHUT UP!"

"Make me!"

"You're sounding like a four-year old! Grow up!"

"BABS, BABS, BABS, BABS, BABS-"

Suddenly, they two lost their grip on both ends of the book, as it fell to the ground and opened to the middle page. They were about to pick it up at the same time, when the pages started to flick madly to the right by themselves. Dick and Barbara were shocked as they were paralysed in the spot. Suddenly, a voice came from the book:

_Find each item in all eight tales_

_In order to be ever prevail_

_Every story an ending must please_

_Or forever in this book, you will be ceased _

The pages stopped flicking, as they saw that it had stopped on the first page. A purple light started to shine, as Dick had time to read two words from the page before they were sucked into the book.

"Snow White…"


	2. 2: You Ate My Apple

**Batgirl & Robin: The Fairytale Duelling Duo**

**CHAPTER 2: You Ate My Apple**

Dick landed on his behind on a road of dirt. But that didn't matter. He looked around, totally awestricken, and he had a feeling that he wasn't in Gotham anymore. There were no cars in sight. No factories. No planes. The people around him were wearing folk clothes, and were selling stuff from markets, talking to their neighbour or hanging with children. The buildings were either made out of wood or stone.

Then, he looked down at himself, and had twice the surprise. He was no longer wearing his street clothes. He had a maroon vest jacket over a dark green T-Shirt, and black pants. His outfit made him look like an everyday, old times person, as he noticed he was wearing…sandals.

"Um…excuse me? Can you tell me where we are?" he asked a nearby man.

"Oh, hello there chap. We're in Far-Away." he replied, with a sad tone/

"F-far-Away?"

"Yes, we're called that because we're the town in the middle of nowhere, far away from anywhere else in the world!" he gloomily said, as he trudged on his way.

_Gees, what's with him? _

Dick looked around, realising that everyone was in the same mood as the man he met before. A woman and her child walked past, as he went to ask them.

"Sorry to bother you, but, why is everyone so sad?" he asked.

The woman looked up, as he saw that she was in tears.

"The princess is dead. B-by an apple soaked in poison by the evil queen." she sobbed.

The moment the woman mentioned 'princess', something clicked in his mind. Where was Babs? He'd been so busy figuring out where he was that he'd forgotten all about Barbara.

"Can you tell me what this princess looks like?" he asked.

"Sh-she had skin as white as snow, all except for her cheeks. They w-were rosy pink. And she was tall, and the most beautiful in all the land." cried the woman.

Her child was crying too, though silently. He was sucking his thumb, while looking up at this stranger who was talking to his mother.

"Uh, nice…anything else? Maybe…hair colour?" he asked.

"Oh, and sh-she had red hair, that shone like the m-moon." the woman answered.

_It HAD to be Babs!_

"Do you know where she's being held?" he asked for the last time.

"P-past the bridge and next to the yellow cottage, d-dear" she answered.

"Thanks!" he called as he began to run over to the bridge.

As he crossed the bridge, something came to his mind. _Skin as white as snow. Apple soaked in poison. Evil queen. _It almost sounded like…the tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves!

_The princess is put into a deep sleep, until the prince comes along and gives her a kiss to wake her up. W-wait. A kiss? For Babs?_

He passed a tree, with a wooden plank on it that said:

**WHOEVER MAKES THE NEVER-SMILING PRINCESS LAUGH, WILL BECOME HER HUSBAND**

_Ha! Who'd become a husband to someone who never smiles? Must be hard taking photos._

His thoughts were interrupted when his vision was focused on the yellow cottage, where seven little men were crowding around some sort of…coffin. Wasting no time, Dick sprinted towards the scene. When he got there, none of the dwarves looked up. They all had their eyes fixed on their friend under the glass. Dick's breath was taken away when he saw his fellow colleague in the coffin. Her red hair seemed to droop, and it was woven in a delicate way. She had a light purple dress on, that went down to her ankles and had shrivelled violet flowers on the hem. And what worried Dick the most, was that her skin was no longer the rosy-pinkie it was before. It was dead white. With tints of blue.

"B-Barbara…"

A dwarf looked up at him, wiping his runny nose. Dick was guessing that he was Sneezy, because he was sneezing a lot.

"H-her name is S-s-s…ACHOO! S-Snow W-white." he sobbed.

Two others looked up. One looked very angry, with his face all red and purple. Dick guessed that he was Grumpy, and the other one was Dopey, because he seemed the smallest, and didn't say a word.

"I-is she…"

"N-no…the e-evil queen put a curse on our b-beloved friend. Sh-she's going to sleep forever." one cried.

_Doc. _Dick thought as the dwarf that just spoke adjusted his glasses.

"Only a k-kiss from a p-prince can wake S-Snow up." whispered Bashful.

"And-d there's n-no p-prince in the land of Far A-away." sobbed Sleep, as he rubbed his eyes.

_No prince? Then how are we going to save Barbara? The prophecy said we had to make every fairytale have a happy ending, and so far, I don't see any happy faces._

Suddenly, Dick had an idea. It was crazy. It was weird. Stupid even. But, he had to do it. For him. For them. For Babs.

"_**I'll **_become a prince." he whispered.

All seven dwarves looked up at him, with surprised expressions on their faces.

"_**I'll **_become the prince, _**her**_ prince, and I'll kiss her and wake her up." Dick said a little louder.

"How-w are y-you going t-to do that-t?" asked Doc.

Dick remembered the sign he'd passed earlier. If he made that princess laugh, then he'd become her husband, which meant he'd become a prince. Then, he'd be able to save Barbara.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I'll be back before you know it. Just…take really good care of her. She's… a good friend. She's very important to me." Dick told them.

They nodded as he took off.

*****

Dick tried to recall all the jokes he'd told Barbara that made her laugh. Then he thought harder, and decided to use the jokes that Alfred laugh, since he was more harder.

He'd reached the palace of the Never-Smiling princess, and was fifth from being next. Dick looked at the princess, who was sitting on the high throne. She had black hair, that was straight and reached her knees. Her royal robe was red and black, and her face was…dull and gloomy. Her father was standing next to her, and was anxious to see if she could get a husband at all.

A scrawny skinny man was trying to tell a funny joke.

"Uh…o-okay. W-why did the aardvark cross the road?" asked the man.

"I don't know." sighed the princess, as she studied her nails.

"To get to the other side!"

The man thought it was hilarious, but the princess kept her sinister look. Her father had a doubtful expression on his face, as beads of sweat poured down from his forehead.

"NEXT!" yelled the princess.

The man's shoulders drooped as he left the palace.

_Maybe my jokes weren't so great after all._

Then he remember this one facial expression that made Bruce laugh one time. If Bruce would laugh at something like that, he wasn't sure who wouldn't.

Dick glanced behind him, where a poor peasant stood. He was the last in line. He seemed unhealthy, and wore ripped clothing. Dick's eyes widened when he realised what fairytale this was. The Princess Who Never Laughed. And he was the peasant who is supposed to trip and fall in a puddle of mud, and make the princess laugh. Then he'd become a handsome prince, and he'd live happily ever after with the princess. If Dick were to take his place, then he'd wreck his ending. He sighed as he turned his body around to the poor man.

"Hey, tough contest, huh?" he remarked.

"Indeed. I'm hoping to win, so I can finally live like the others do. Full bellies at the end of the day, clothes that would last for decades and a beautiful wife." sighed the peasant.

"Tell you what, you can go in front of me. I think you deserve it most." Dick said.

The poor man looked very excited.

"Really? I am most pleased! Thankyou! Thankyou ever so much! I will repay you at any cost after I win this contest!" the man squeaked.

"No problem, sir." Dick smiled.

It was the peasant's turn. He tried telling the princess a joke, and after it failed, he turned and tripped over a rock, and landed face first into a muddy puddle. The crowd howled with laughter, along with the princess, who was most impressed. Her father looked the most pleased, as he was jumping up and down.

"My daughter, has found a HUSBAND!" the king shouted as he signalled the guards to give the man the crown.

The crowd cheered as the king anointed the man. He immediately became a handsome prince, and the first thing he did after he stood up, was run up to Dick and give him a big hug.

"Thankyou so much, friend. As I promised, I will repay you for your good deed. A palace like mine? A horse drawn cart? A wife of your own?" he asked.

Dick laughed when he mentioned him having to be paid to have a wife, and thought back to Barbara, who was still asleep in the glass coffin.

"There is…ONE thing you can do…"

*****

The princess, who laughed so often now, was standing at the carriage with Dick and the prince, just beside Barbara's coffin. The dwarves were in hope, and talking to her in her coffin.

"So, let me get this straight; my new husband, has to kiss that girl, in order for her to wake up from her death sleep?" asked the princess.

"Um, yes. Is that okay with you?" asked Dick.

"Come on, honey. It's just one little kiss. It's not like I'm in love with her…I mean…who need her when I have you?" the peasant/prince chuckled.

The princess giggled and sighed.

"Oh, okay. Just one quick peck."

Dick and the prince made their way to the coffin, as the dwarves stepped aside. Sleep and Grumpy opened the glass case, as the smell of roses and strawberry filled the air.

"Wow. She is beautiful!" gasped the prince.

Dick nodded and smiled.

"She is, isn't she? But don't tell her that I said that, okay?"

"Oh, I see. You love her, don't you?"

"N-no! No I don't! She's just a friend-"

"No you love her, Mr. Dick. More than anything in the world! I know that look-"

"Just hurry up and kiss her!"

The prince shrugged and lowered his head to kiss Barbara's lips. Dick looked away uncomfortably, as he felt himself clench his fists. The prince stepped back once he'd kissed her. The princess had joined him, and everyone watched nervously at the sleeping girl. Slowly, her eyelids fluttered as she began to rise and yawn from her coffin. The dwarves cheered as the newly weds laughed happily. Dick grinned and swooped down to hug her.

"D-Dick?"

"BABS! OH, I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"W-what's going on? Where are we?" she asked with confusion.

Purple smoke started to surround the two, as Dick helped Barbara up.

"We're in the land of Far-Away and…"

"Snow White! You're alive!"

Barbara suddenly felt seven pairs of arms wrapped around her shinbones, as she laughed.

"I see, you must be the seven dwarves. So cute!" cooed Barbara.

"How come you don't coo when _**I'm **_around? I'm cute, right?" asked Dick.

"In your dreams, Boy Wonder."

"Speaking of dreams, how do we get out of this one?" Dick remarked.

"This isn't a dream, Blunder. We're trapped inside a book. And it's about time we turned to the next chapter. Now, where's that apple?"

Barbara began to look around, the dwarves willing to help. Dick looked confused.

"Um, Babs? What are you doing? Why are you looking for an apple?" he asked.

"The message said we have to collect eight items from each story. And I'm guessing our first one is the apple Snow White bit." Barbara explained.

"And what's mine supposed to be?" asked Dick.

Barbara sighed happily as she held the bitten apple in her hand, then frowned as she thought.

"They're from the Princess Who Never Laughed, right? Take his crown, it's a symbol that he's become a prince from a peasant." she said.

The peasant/prince gave them his crown, with a toothy grin.

"Please, take it. I have plenty more in my new home." he chuckled.

The princess giggled with him. Purple smoke started to form around Dick and Barbara.

"Thankyou for everything, and I'll miss you guys!" Barbara said as she gave each other the seven dwarves a quick hug.

"Yeah, thankyou." Dick said as he waved.

"Oh, and we almost forgot!"

Happy ran up with his chubby little legs and handed Dick a little bag.

"Thanks, little man. What's this?"

The purple smoke started to rise above their waists.

"Magic dust, to warn off the ugly stepsisters." replied Happy.

And that was the last thing Dick and Barbara heard from Far-Away land.


	3. 3: You Waltzed My Slipper Off

**Batgirl & Robin: The Fairytale Duelling Duo**

**CHAPTER 3: You Waltzed My Slipper Off**

Barbara saw the purple smoke clear out, and found that she was no longer wearing her purple Snow-White gown. Instead, she had a dark purple dress on with white sequences forming a rose shape from her chest to the bottom of the dress, which reached to the middle of her shinbones. And it was a bit fluffy around the waist. In her hand, was the bag of magic dust.

"Uh, can I have your invitation please?"

She turned around to see a butler, that looked a bit like Alfred, minus the bald patch and black-grey hair. This one was a little chubbier, and had brown hair, and was waiting for her invitation to be placed in his hand. Then it came to her, that she was standing right outside a large palace, where she could see people dancing inside from the windows. There was a ball being held, and she had a feeling, that Dick was in there, because he was no longer beside her.

"Uh, I think it's here somewhere…"

Barbara's hands rummaged around her dress, trying to find some sort of envelope, until she felt something appear in her hand. It was a pinkish-white piece of paper, that read: **YOU ARE INVITED **in fancy letters.

"H-here you go." Barbara said as she gave the invitation to the butler.

He smiled and gestured her to come in.

"Have a good time, madam." he said politely.

Barbara picked up the sides of her dress, and went in nervously. The ballroom was humongous, and decorated so beautifully in light blue and purple. People were waltzing in pairs, and chatting beside the buffet. They all looked at her with awe in their eyes as she entered the room. Her eyes widened when she spotted the two most hideous girls she'd ever seen in her life.

_The ugly sisters…this must be…the tale of Cinderella!_

She then remembered what the dwarves had said about the bag, that they'd warn off the ugly sisters. Suddenly, two hands grabbed her shoulders and turned her around. She found herself against someone's chest.

"Babs! I am SO glad I found you!"

She looked up to see Dick looking down at her, and she went red and stood up straight. He was wearing an elegant new outfit, more bright and wealthier than his old one. He had a white prince outfit on, with a red rose in the front pocket of his jacket. He had the crown that peasant prince had given him on his head, and his black shiny hair was so handsomely ruffled in a neat way.

"Dick? Why are you dressed like that?" she asked.

"I have absolutely NO idea! One minute, I'm a townsfolk, and now I'm being called 'Prince Richard'." he remarked.

Barbara's heart stopped beating. _**He **_was the prince of this story, just like she was the princess of Snow White! And _**he **_was about to fall in love, with someone else!

"Dick, we're in the story of Cinderella. Don't look now, but the ugly sisters are staring at you." she whispered in his ear.

Dick gulped and grabbed one of her hands and with his other hand, he wrapped it around her waist.

"Quick! Dance with me! I don't want _their_ hands anywhere near me!" he whimpered.

Barbara went pink around her cheeks, as she felt his hand around her waist pulling her closer to him. Dick went from scared, to nervous, because he just realised that he was holding hands with her. They danced slowly and awkwardly at first, then they were slow-dancing perfectly in a few minutes. People were staring at them and wondering, _Who was this girl that the young handsome prince was dancing with? _Dick smiled and looked down at his dancing partner, who was now resting her head on his chest. He heard her sigh. Her hair smelled so good, like fresh roses in the spring. His hands were now both on her waist, as hers were around his shoulders. There was something about her that made his heart beat in a strange way. And whenever she was around, he would blush and cover up these weird emotions with bickering and argument. Now he knew what these feelings were.

"Hey there, Charming! Come dance with me!" squealed a voice behind Barbara.

Her head spun around and saw that the ugly sisters were coming their way, and frantically tapped Dick on the shoulder.

"The ugly sisters! They're coming!" she hissed in his ear.

One of his hands searched for the bag of magic dust that Barbara was holding, and he took a handful of the glittery silver powder.

"Follow my lead." whispered.

His fingers clicked, to signal some tango music from the orchestra. They immediately changed the soft, slow music to a fierce, hot tango beat. Dick quickly grabbed her hand, and started to tango with her, moving away from the sisters. But no matter where they went, the sisters would follow. Barbara whipped up some tango moves of her own, and wrapped one of her legs around Dick's, as he dragged her gently across the polished floor backwards. Then, when her leg went back, he dipped her upper body toward the floor, holding her with one arm. And with the other hand, he released the dust, just as the ugly sisters approached. When they came near the shower of silver glitter, they began to back away, and become strangely attracted to the buffet table. He brought her back to his chest, just as the tango music became soft and gentle again.

"Nice one, Grayson." she whispered.

"Now, shall we continue?" he said with a grin.

Barbara looked away, and let go of his hands.

"Dick, we shouldn't be doing this." she said with disappointment.

Dick looked hurt.

"Why not? We're doing great, and Bruce isn't here, so what's the problem?"

"The princess in this story…she has to find you…and…"

She was interrupted by the loud rings of the midnight chime. Barbara glanced at the clock, as it struck twelve. Suddenly, the door burst open, as a coach, that strangely looked a bit like a pumpkin, charged in with three horses, with tails that where turning into what looked like mice tails.

"WE HAVE TO GO!" said one of the horses.

The crowd gasped as they heard it talk.

"NOW! WE MUST LEAVE! THE CLOCK HAS STRUCK TWELVE!"

Barbara looked around for a girl with a dress turning into rags, but she couldn't find anyone. Then, she looked down at her own dress, and realised that they were fading into a muddy brown. She looked up to see the coach heading her way in a hurry.

"COME ON, WE HAVE TO GO!" said the coachman.

Her eyes widened at he grabbed her arms and pulled her onto the chariot. She wanted to scream, but something told her not to. Before she knew it, she was being carried away by a coach that was turning into a pumpkin, and horses that were changing into mice. Dick was running after her, shouting at the horses.

"HEY! BRING HER BACK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" he shouted.

But it was too late, she was long gone. Dick was staring out from the balcony at a girl in rags, disappearing with three mice following her. He looked down, and saw one of her shoes that seemed to have fallen off during the incident. The butler came behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Sir, are you alright?"

Dick looked back, and frowned, looking hurt.

"Butler, we have to find that girl. We have to find that girl, because I have to tell her something," he said firmly.

He looked at the shoe, and back out into the dark night.

"Something, very important."

*****

Barbara woke up the next day, to a screech that was calling her.

"GET UP! WASH THE FLOOR! IT'S A MESS!" screamed the step-mother.

She sighed as she stood up from the floor. Ever since she'd been taken away by the pumpkin coach, she'd realised that _**she **_was the princess in the story. _**She **_was Cinderella, and _**Dick **_was her prince to the rescue! Well, he wasn't doing a very good job, because she was still stuck in her step-mother's house.

"Coming!" she called.

"THEN HURRY!" she snapped back from outside the door of the basement.

_Boy, I feel sorry for Cinderella. Now I know how it feels to be her. Poor girl. Poor me!_

Barbara sighed as she ran up the steps of the basement, and went out to scrub the floor. It was a mess alright, the cat had been in again, and it's muddy paw prints were everywhere. She stopped polishing the floor, when she heard a familiar voice coming from the lounge room.

"You wouldn't happen to have someone who has a glass slipper missing, do you?"

She bolted into the lounge room, to see the ugly step-sisters fighting over the shoe. Dick stood there, frowning and shaking his head. The butler was looking very stressed, and was trying to break the fight up. Suddenly, the sisters' let go of the slipper, and Barbara caught it with one of her hands. It reminded her of the time she first caught her batarang, after it had hit Killer Moth in the head. Dick grinned happily when he saw her.

"That's her! She's the girl!" he exclaimed.

He rushed to hug her tightly, then let go with embarrassment. The step-mother and step sisters looked horrified.

"No she's not! She wasn't at the ball! YOU CAN'T PROVE IT!" yelled the step-mother.

Barbara smiled mischievously as she pulled the other slipper out of her pocket and slipped it along with the other slipper. They fitted perfectly, as the sisters screeched and the step-mother stomped her foot.

"NO!"

The butler looked very pleased, and came forward with a sword in his hand.

"I believe you will be needing this." he said, as he handed it to Dick.

The purple smoke appeared again, and surrounded the two.

"Thanks, what for though?" he asked.

But before the butler could open his mouth, Dick and Barbara disappeared, and landed in a heap of vines and thorns.


	4. 4: You Ended My Nightmares

**BATGIRL & ROBIN: The Fairytale Duelling Duo**

**You Ended My Nightmares**

"Where are we?" asked Barbara, as she looked around.

It was a jungle, full of vines and thorns. The whole place looked grey, dull and….sad.

"I have absolutely no idea." he replied nervously.

He still wanted to tell her…what he wanted to tell her. Barbara looked at him curiously, noticing the crack in his voice. He just grinned back nervously and pretending that his foot was itching. She shrugged and dusted the dead vines off her new outfit. It wasn't a dress this time. It was a pair of brown, patchy pants with a dark purple old-fashioned shirt. She had two sword holders on her back with two sharp and shiny katana swords in them. Barbara looked like a wild adventurer. Dick, on the other hand, looked like a knight in shining armour. He had silver metal everywhere, as boots, pants and shirt. It made Barbara look like his right hand man…or woman in this case.

Dick stopped itching his foot and looked up to see if Barbara was still looking at him. Instead, she was studying the blades of her swords. His eyes widened with fear when he looked at her.

"Um, Babs?"

"Dick, I told you, DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"But, Babs…"

"I said-"

"BEHIND YOU!"

She immediately turned around to see a huge, scaly purple dragon behind her. It was about thirty feet tall, and had fire and smoke fuming out of its mouth and nostrils. Barbara had no sense to scream and run, as Dick bolted for his life, yelling and shouting. She, however, stood her ground and stared with horror up at the humongous creature, as it began to swoop down with its sharp, acute jaws.

"BABS! RUN!" yelled Dick over the roar of the flames.

She went pale and still didn't move. Her hands trembled, and dropped the swords she had.

"BARBARA! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

Barbara opened her mouth to say something. But nothing came out. The dragon's smoke was blowing out of its nostrils, it was so close that it blew against her hair. Just as it was about to open its mouth to swallow her, Dick bolted past, on a white, dazzling horse. He quickly picked up the swords from the ground and slashed its jaw. As the dragon roared with pain, he pulled her onto the horse and galloped away. The started to slow down to a canter, when the dragon was out of sight.

"Where did you find this horse?" she asked breathlessly.

"You're welcome, Babs." mumbled Dick.

She was sitting in front of Dick, and grasped the reins ad pulled them to a slower pace, so she could hop off and pat it.

"I didn't find her, she came to me. It's like, we were meant to be, or something."

Dick thought about the last couple of words that he just said, and glanced up and Barbara, who was beaming at the beautiful horse.

_We were meant to be…_

His thoughts were interrupted when the horse whinnied and stood on its hind legs, knocking Dick to the ground. Barbara laughed, as she heard the horse make a chuckling noise, as though it meant to kick Dick off.

"Meant to be, huh?" she giggled.

"I must have a name."

Barbara stroked its silver mane and smiled.

"Mist."

"Mist?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted a horse when I was a little girl. And 'Mist' just fits with her."

Dick stood up and brushed himself, just as a furious roar filled the air. Mist looked terrified and started to kick the air with her front hooves.

"I think our 'friend' is back." said Dick.

Sure enough, the tress and shrubs in front of them were squashed and demolished by a pair of scaly claws.

"You're not feeling petrified again, are you by any chance?" Dick asked Barbara.

She glared at the creature and grabbed her two swords.

"Not. One. Bit."

They quickly hopped back onto Mist and galloped in lightning speed towards the dragon. When they reached the tail, Barbara leapt off, and started to climb up. Dick managed to find a sword of his own in his outfit, and started to slice the dragon with it.

"BABS! I HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" he yelled at her.

"JUST SHUT UP AND DISTRACT HIM!" she yelled back.

She continue to climb the back of the beast, clinging on for dear life, everytime it leant forward to try and grab Dick and Mist. He stubbed his sword in its foot, and it wailed with pain.

"TAKE THAT!"

Dick didn't notice the tail behind him and the horse, and yelled when it whacked him. Mist whinnied and began hitting it with her hooves. But the dragon ignored it and picked Dick up with its sharp talons. Barbara looked horrified, as she watched Dick unconscious in its hand.

"DICK! WAKE UP!" she screamed.

She stabbed the dragon behind, in its back. It roared with agony, but still didn't let go of Dick. Instead, the result was that Barbara was hanging off in mid air, holding onto both of her swords which were in the creature's back, and Dick was going to be dead meat.

"COME DICK! WAKE UP! PLEASE!" she shouted.

Suddenly, three glittery trails of light appeared, as Barbara looked up from the ground below her. Dick was suddenly dropped to ground, and she was floating in mid air. She looked closely at the lights, and saw that they were three little fairies; one pink, one green and the other blue. They quickly zoomed next to Barbara to see if she was okay.

"Are you alright, my dear?" asked the blue one.

"Y-yes. You're f-fairies?" Barbara managed to ask.

"We're the good fairies, the guardians of Sleeping Beauty." the pink one beamed.

"And that's the bad fairy, she's transformed into a dragon to try and stop the prince from saving our princess." replied the green fairy.

"Please help us defeat the dragon and save the princess! She needs the prince's kiss so that she, along with the whole sleeping town!" explained the pink fairy.

Barbara's eyes widened.

"Y-you mean D-Dick?"

"Yes! That young fellow over there! We must help him!" panted the green fairy as it zapped the dragon's foot.

Barbara gulped, but braced herself. The dragon had spotted her and the fairies, and was charging towards them.

"MIST!" called Barbara.

A frantic whinny came before the silver horse came and swept Barbara off her feet. It galloped towards the creature, as she stood on its back, gripping her swords. Meanwhile, the fairies were trying to knock Dick back into consciousness.

"Uh, prince, dear! Please wake up! The princess needs you!" shouted the pink fairy.

Dick moaned as he rolled over. The blue fairy shook her head and zapped his head. He sprung up with his eyes widened with surprised.

"W-where am I? Where's B-Barbara?"

The fairies pointed to the horse, but found it running with no one on her back. They looked up at the dragon, and saw Barbara on top of its head, struggling to cling on because it was trying to shake her off. Dick stood up and grabbed his sword.

"HEY UGLY! OVER HERE!"

He ran to its feet and stabbed the centre of the scaly limb. It roared in pain, just as Barbara struck at its neck with both of her swords. Dark purple blood splashed out, some oozing down its neck, some on Barbara's shirt and face. As it began to collapse, she fell down with it.

"BARBARA! NOOO!"

Luckily, she began to slow down, and soon, she was laying in mid air. The green fairy had used her levitation spell on her. Barbara leapt down and landed on both of her feet. Dick came running to her and flung his arms out to her, and hugged her tight.

"Oh, Babs. Are you okay?"

She stared at him awkwardly as he began to wipe the blood off her face with a piece of cloth. Her cheeks began to burn as he leaned in closer to clean her lips. He spotted her looking at him.

"What?"

"N-nothing."

She quickly looked at something else, and tried to think about something else. But she couldn't. It wasn't just her cheeks that were burning now. Her heart was too.

_Dick was so….nice? For a ward of Bruce Wayne's and a total hottie at college, he's…pretty nice for a snob. I guess this is what Batman saw when he chose him for Robin's mantle._

"There. Done."

Dick stepped back to see if her face was actually clean, but frowned.

"What?" he asked Barbara, who was staring at him again.

"Y-you have a bruise on your cheek." she said as she came closer.

"Where? Here? Here?"

He pointed to all the parts of his cheeks, but didn't seem to find it.

"No. It's here."

Barbara rested a hand on his cheek, and kissed the top of his cheekbone, which was throbbing until she laid her lips on it. He felt like he could never breathe again. Her kiss was like a cure for his injury. It spread from the surface to the skin, to the inside of his body, seeking through until it filled up every dark shadow in his heart. Once her lips moved away, the pain immediately came back, tugging on every aching muscle.

"Uh…I think it'll heal later on." she said quietly as she cleared her throat.

"Y-yeah."

_Stupid, stupid Babs! Why did I kiss him for? That was very inappropriate! How could I do such a ridiculous thing like that? I mean, I'm supposed to hate him, not…wait…did I just call myself 'Babs'?_

She nodded and turned to Mist, who was being aided by the fairies. Dick felt his cheeks with the back of his hand, and yes, they were burning. Worse yet, his body started to hurt again. It felt like he had been running 150 miles without stopping. But, what was that he just felt with Barbara?

"So, um… fairies? How do we find this 'Sleeping Beauty'?" asked Barbara.

"Up in the tower. But, we cannot help you. We are forbidden to go up to Princess Aurora's tower." the blue fairy said.

"Don't forget this! You'll need it in the next quest!" said the green fairy.

She handed Barbara a tiara, crusted with jewels and gold. It was then, that Barbara realised that she'd lost her Snow White tiara.

"Very well, we better hurry if we're going to save her." said Dick as he climbed onto Mist.

"_You're _going to save her, Dick. _You _are." snapped Barbara as she sat behind him.

She scowled and dug her heels into Mist's sides after saying a quick goodbye to the fairies. Mist took off, but slowed down with a little tug of the reins by Dick. He looked back at Barbara, who looked cross.

"What was that?" he asked.

"What?"

"Before, back there."

"Look, I only kissed you because dad always says that a kiss makes anything that hurts feel better. Now if you-"

"N-no, I was talking about your attitude."

They were quiet for a few moments, as the horse trotted through the woods. Barbara looked up front the ground to see the back of his head, full of that black shiny hair that looked almost blue in the moonlight.

"Dick?"

"Hmm?"

Barbara was about to say something, when Mist whinnied at the sight of a tall tower. The brick walls were woven in old green vines, the blue blossoms were shrivelled up and wrinkled.

"I think we're here." Dick said quietly.

She followed after him, after she told Mist to stay. They entered through the old, mouldy, timber door and climbed up the cold stone steps. There had to be more than one hundred, because the climb was endless. At last, with Dick in the front, the mountain of steps had ended, and on the top, was the most delicate looking bed they'd ever seen. The fabric was silky and looked smooth, and on the top of the lot, was a pale, blonde girl, sleeping a deep sleep.

"Here's where you do your job, prince 'Charming'." muttered Barbara.

Dick looked back at her and frowned.

"Barbara, what's the matter? Ever since we've been in this fairytale, you've been more duller than Bruce." he said.

She just stayed quiet and watched as Dick came closer to the princess.

_Every girl that he meets can't resist him. I guess this whole 'prince charming' thing fits him. Coming to the rescue of every princess, fighting the evil dragon… I wish…I could be loved…like he does. Everyone loves the way your hair looks in the morning. Everyone loves what you wear everyday. But no. That's not me. Instead, I'm just the nerdy girl who sits in the library all day, without a date to the dance or company for the night. I just wish that he…that I…that we…_

Dick was a few centimetres away from her lips, when Barbara suddenly lundges for his waist.

"Dick! Wait!"

But it was too late. He had already kissed Sleeping Beauty. Before she could tell him…what she wanted to tell him…The purple smoke appeared again, and swept them away into another fairytale.


	5. 5 PART 1: I Melted Your Cold Heart

**BATGIRL & ROBIN: The Fairytale Duelling Duo**

**CHAPTER 6: I Melted Your Cold Heart - PART 1**

Dick pushed Barbara away violently from their warm embrace. He started scowling and yelling. She lay on the floor, watching in horror as he clutched his eye.

"D-Dick? Are you okay?"

She stood up and gently placed a hand on his arm. As soon as he felt her fingers, he shouted and pushed her hand away.

"Dick!"

He growled and removed his hand away from his eye. Barbara gasped as she saw a line of blood trickling down from his eyelid. But Dick ignored this and hit her, making her slam into the wall.

"Leave me alone! You're such a hell of a nuisance! I knew I should've stayed with Kory at the tower last night…"

Barbara straightened up against the wall when she heard those hurtful words. All she could manage at that moment was a frown, hiding her urge to burst into tears and slaughter him right there. But something was wrong. His eye. His behaviour. Dick was never like that. He would never yell at her. He would never hit her. He would never hurt her. Not after what just happened between them before.

"J-just go to bed!" he shouted.

She took a minute to realise that they were in a bedroom, of two beds, a wardrobe and two drawers. It came to sense that the room was upstairs, because behind their beds was a balcony, the metal banisters woven by dry vines that looked like they've been growing flowers a few months ago.

Barbara shut the windows quickly to prevent the cold wind from outside. It was snowing outside, and it looked like a giant white quilt covering the town. Her attention went back to Dick, who was cursing her as he made himself comfortable in one of the beds. She frowned and sat down on the other bed.

"Say another word to me, and I'll slit your throat." he muttered.

She inhaled a gulp of air as she took off her boots and coat, and hid herself beneath the bed sheets. She took one last glance at the sleeping angry boy on the other side of the room before rolling over to face the opposite direction.

"Goodnight…Dick…" she whispered as she closed her eyes to let out a bitter tear.

The cold morning woke up Barbara as it travelled from her uncovered toes to her knees, which felt numb by the time she was awake. She glanced towards Dick, who was still fast asleep, softly snoring. Her mind told her to put on her boots and run away. But instead, she got up and covered her blanket over his, so he could stay warm. She quietly backed away and admired his pale, sleepy face. A gulp was managed when she came to study his bloody eye.

"_Leave me alone! You're such a hell of a nuisance! I knew I should've stayed with Kory at the tower last night…"_

Her fingers twitched when she remembered the hurtful words that slapped her in the face. She couldn't understand what was wrong. Something warm and big just happened to them, and Dick just froze it up with his sharp tongue.

"_Barbara, stop it! You're a wonderful person. Don't blame your good soul for this mess. You're never to blame, because you're such a decent person, always so neat, polite…and so beautiful…" _

How could he say such things…when…

"_Barbara, I __know__ I love you."_

She shook her head to make her forget the memories that stung her eyes. To keep her mind off Dick, she looked out the window to see the frosty morning. Her eyes squinted when she spotted the sun. People down below were starting their mornings in the townsfolk way. It looked like a Victorian town, as Barbara studied their clothing.

Suddenly, she jumped as she heard a door slam behind her. Dick was gone, as his bed was empty.

"DICK!" she shouted.

She bolted out to the balcony to see him run out in his winter coat, pants and boots. His oak green sweater stood out the most.

"WAIT! DICK COME BACK!"

As if he ignored her, he continued to run. She watched in horror as he snatched a snow sled from a little boy, and rode down the snowy road. His skills were proven as he began to steer it expertly. But that stopped him immediately as Barbara spotted a glimmer of silver. A woman in a deer-drawn sled stopped right in front of him. Her hair was silver and white, just like her long dress. They were the same colour as the deer, as the sled was too. The only thing that stood out were her bright red lips, that cornered up to a smile as she spotted Dick. Barbara opened her mouth to warn him not to do anything stupid, but it felt like he slapped her with words again.

She watched in disbelief as he smiled and hopped onto her sled. Her fingers shot to her waist, where her utility belt usually was. But her reflects became disappointed because there was not grappling hook for her to hook onto the sled. The white woman pulled on the reins, to signal the deer to go. Barbara had every urge to jump down from the balcony and run after the sled, but the last glance that Dick gave her bolted her to the ground. Her senses were useless at that moment, not understanding the things he had done.

"Why…why did he just do that?"

Her fists clenched as she shut her eyes. She knew what she had to do. No matter how much Dick had grown to hate her at that time.

"Dick, you moron. I'm going to come after your sorry butt. Because I God damn love you to bits," she scowled as she made her way downstairs to the town below.

"And when I find you, I'm going to slap you in the face and tell you straight forward how much you mean to me. I don't care if you hate me, I just want to stamp that permanently into your heart."

Barbara's shoes began to soak in the wetness of the snow, as she walked continuously through the blizzard that was picking up. She was so determined to find Dick, everything else in her mind had been forgotten. Even the fact that she was in a fairytale seemed to have slipped away somewhere. Her lips weren't their usual rosy-pink color. They were pale and purple as they hit the cold, harsh air. As the storm grew, her drowsiness grew with it. But she kept fighting, forcing every step and strained every muscle in her body to stretch to the limit, begging them to bear just a little longer. Just as she was about to give up, two hands supported her as she began to fall. Her eyelids were falling down, heavy with no memory of how long she'd been walking for.

"…Dick? …Is…is that…that you?"

She couldn't say anymore. She couldn't hear anymore. All she wanted to do was rest and put all her trust into this 'stranger' that had caught her. The last thing she saw was a warm smile…almost as warm as Dick's…

_To be continued in Part 2…_


End file.
